It has been researched: a Michelin star ruins restaurant reviews
Remarkable: restaurants that receive a new Michelin star often see the positivity in their online reviews decline. Strange, perhaps? Extensive research has been conducted into this, and these are the surprising results:
Portuguese researchers at Universidade Nova de Lisboa used more than 8,800 reviews on TripAdvisor (including 2,316 starred establishments) to examine what receiving a Michelin star—whether it is a restaurant’s first or third—does to guests’ ‘sentiment’, in other words, their feelings about the establishment in question. And the result is one that might make a chef think, “Well, you can keep the star then…”
Michelin star ruins restaurant reviews
Although this can certainly be nuanced, the findings show that, in general, guests’ goodwill toward a restaurant declines slightly once that restaurant has received a Michelin star. Appreciation for the service declines the most, followed by appreciation for the quality of the food and for the atmosphere and ambiance. The ‘price’ category was also examined.
More lenient about the prices
The overall appreciation of Michelin restaurants in the first three categories declined by an average of 4.8 percent in the study’s results. This considers one-, two- and three-star restaurants together. When examined specifically, appreciation for one- and two-star establishments fell by 5%, while appreciation for three-star establishments fell by less than 1%. However, the latter category accounted for only 4.2 percent of the total. Remarkably, when it came to prices at starred establishments, no decline in appreciation was observed; the ratings remained ‘neutral’.
Expectation of luxury
What, in short, can be concluded from this according to the researchers? Above all, that as soon as a restaurant secures a Michelin star, guests start looking at it much more critically. The fact that this is reflected in reviews is likely mainly due to the fact that somewhat (or very) dissatisfied people are more likely to reach for their keyboards online than guests who were completely satisfied. Why, then, were people less inclined to complain about prices in the reviews? Probably because guests’ expectations of luxury are already high, so the bill may ultimately be a little less daunting.
Curious about the full study? You can find it here.
Also read:
- Michelin stars 2022: all the winners and losers in a row
- Book quickly: these are the new Bib Gourmand restaurants of 2022 according to Michelin
- Scrambled eggs 2.0: how Michelin chefs fry an egg
